


The Adventures of Chensung

by strawberryjenos



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: I used to be an anon, I've tidied up some of the slang so it reads better, M/M, This is a BUNCH of short chensung oneshots, and these were all of my works, this is also a lil high school au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-24
Updated: 2019-01-24
Packaged: 2019-10-15 17:45:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 16,934
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17533328
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/strawberryjenos/pseuds/strawberryjenos
Summary: A series of oneshots following the misadventures of two best friends and their weird hobbies. Most are short and easy reads but they get longer and have more plot towards the end, May be out of order I'm sorry!





	1. Jisung's Writing

**Author's Note:**

> i mass posted of all these but i also have some i never finished. i might write and post those too?

Jisung always tries to write his novels but Chenle never fails to pester him for attention constantly. Flicking him in the ear, singing in the dolphin voice, throwing stuff at him. Jisung surprisingly hasn’t throttled him yet and he hates it when he tries to write on the go and he’s not with Chenle because as annoying as the kid is when Jisung is “ignoring me for your dumb book!! I’m more fun than a book, Sungie!” Chenle’s presence helps him get inspiration.

He didn’t realize how much he grew used to the pestering until Chenle was in China and Jisung was trying to write his book to occupy his time. No matter how charged with inspiration he was, the magic wasn’t being produced. He didn’t know why, but it frustrated him to no end.

Then Chenle was back from vacation and as soon as he sat down with the book again and Chenle hit him in the head with a plushie and shoved their frog in his face, Jisung’s lost words were pouring onto the pages with no sign of stopping. As much as Chenle complains and shrieks and sings and annoys him, Jisung loves that stupid kid. So he puts down the book and attacks his face with kisses while Chenle screams in protest.


	2. Teddies

Chenle and Jisung have been friends since they were 6 when they met on the playground and for Jisung’s 8th birthday his mom took him and Chenle to a Build A Bear so now Chenle and Jisung have a teddy bear and a puppy respectively that have matching outfits. They’re in high school now but they still have their tattered teddies that spent too many days in the sand boxes and that time they tried to give them a bath at the beach

They’re both like, 15 & 16 at this point but whenever they stay over at each other’s houses for a sleepover they always have the teddies shoved in their backpacks because yeah it should be lame for boys their age but the teddies have been through everything with them (lowkey the teddies are their best friends, too) 

Jisung feels soft sometimes and he picks the puppy up with a smile and makes it kiss Chenle’s nose while he makes the puppy talk to him like “oh Chenle’s feeling a little grumpy today? Oh we can’t have that now can we? Let’s fix it with kisses!” and then makes the puppy kiss attack Chenle while he shrieks and laughs. It always makes him feel better

Whenever Jisung’s feeling sad or stressed Chenle presses the puppy to his chest until he holds it and then he uses his teddy to talk Jisung and makes it kiss his cheeks. When Jisung’s crying, though, he just curls up under blankets with him and their teddies and rubs Jisung’s back as he hiccups away the tears


	3. Chensung Take On Grocery Shopping

Chensung grocery shopping is, as expected, a hot mess…Jisung’s mom has trusted them with the errand for 3 years now but Jisung really isn’t sure why. Especially after that time they got banned from the mall on one of their pit stops. She gives them a list (that Chenle ends up losing at some point, Always. Jisung isn’t sure why he keeps giving it to Chenle) that they mostly follow and this must be what makes her feel like they’re competent.

Chenle insists on stopping by the shops and the convenience store every time they go together. So Jisung has given up on protesting and they get a pack of cookies, yogurt, and chocolate milk as a snack before they go. Chenle’s interested in model planes so they also end up stopping in the collection of little shops a few streets away from the grocery store. Jisung doesn’t protest this one bc he likes the way Chenle lights up when he explains the planes to him

Actual grocery shopping commences about an hour or so later than intended (they can’t be bothered to keep a schedule anymore) and Chenle is prone to get lost in the aisles. He’s always stopping to look at the little toys they keep on the shelves and snacks he’s seen there “a million times before, hurry up, Chenle!” Jisung loves the kid but he always leave Chenle behind and watches him panic from the end of the aisle when Jisung’s gone

Chenle gets to pick out snacks for Jisung’s cabinets bc he basically lives at their house and Jisung’s mom even has his favorites on the grocery list now. Jisung usually ends up tossing cereal boxes and shit at Chenle when they start to argue with each other about which flavor of jellies is better and which ones get to live in Jisung’s cabinet for the next few weeks. They’re both super soft for each other so they end up caving at some point and sometimes buy both.

Chenle’s annoying and forgets that he’s rich though because he tries to pick out the really expensive foods and the Korean beef so Jisung usually has to scold him and when he tells Chenle they can’t buy the expensive bakery items he ends up sulking until Chenle finds dumb toys to play around with and cheer him up. He escapes bc “I have to go to the bathroom! 2 seconds!!” and then the selfless dumbass pulls out his credit card n buys the sweets and Korean beef and then a gift for Jisung’s mom and has them delivered to Jisung’s apartment so he doesn’t know and comes back with red cheeks and lies that he got carried away and ran around the aisles for a little bit.

The checkout lady loves them so they always get a free candy bar for the road and then they have to walk back with all the bags and of course Chenle’s dumb ass buys another model plane on the way back.

Bonus: Chenle orders the expensive bakery items / Korean beef / gift for Jisung's mom to be sent to Jisung's apartment 2 days later so he doesn't find out where Chenle ran off to in the grocery store

Chenle happens to be over when the delivery arrives and the delivery boy who works the bakery tells Jisung's mom someone sent her a gift. Ofc when they open it and Jisung realizes where the gift came from he smacked Chenle in the head and growled at him to stop being such a selfless dumbass (they both know he’s really grateful and happy to see his mom so excited though. Especially since Chenle sent her favorite chocolates she only buys for special occasions)

 


	4. Jisung's Cousin

Jisung has a 4 year old cousin that he gets to babysit at least one a month. he has decided that while he’s cool with keeping a teddy, he’s NOT cool with playing with Barbies. Well, until he sees her big innocent eyes and the pout on her face when he says no. he’s really awkward with it, but the kid is having a lot of fun and even though Jisung likes to pretend he’s cool he’s really soft for her. At some point she gets fed up with his awkwardness and hug tackles him and he tickles her until she’s screaming for him to stop

-

Chensung are totally soft for one (1) human being that isn’t each other and that person is Jisung’s 4 year old cousin. She’s a little wary of the train station so if they take her somewhere they end up having to walk. They both hold her hand as she walks between them and she loves it when they lift her up and swing her while they walk. she looks so tiny compared to Jisung which Chenle claims he finds hilarious (but really his heart is a puddle of goop, that shit is so cute)

They always end up taking her to the park a few blocks away from Jisung’s apartment. She likes to play basketball with them and Jisung carries on her his shoulders and they play against Chenle. She thinks it’s especially funny because of the way Chenle screams whenever Jisung lets her dunk the ball. it makes her angry when Jisung cheats at the monkey bars so he always ends up on the grass being attacked by her and Chenle

Whenever she’s on Jisung’s shoulders she pretends she’s a queen and Jisung is her trusty steed. she’s always pointing to the places she wants to go and saying “onward! the queen wants to travel to the playground kingdom!!” Chenle laughs because Jisung is totally whipped for her but literally any time she wants something from him she has it in about .2 seconds. She’s always crashing into them giving them the strongest hugs her little 4 year old body can muster.

They always end up treating her to ice cream when they babysit no matter how many times they’re told not to. Jisung tells Chenle he has to pay since he’s rich and he did less work than Jisung. then he panics when Chenle actually pays for their ice cream because he didn’t mean it and he tells Chenle this but he just waves his hand and says “shut up, dummy. let me treat u, I have the pocket money.”

At the end of the day when they have to give her back to her mom they’re all sad and complaining about it (they’ll never admit it though) and Chenle really hopes Jisung has a kid one day because seeing him with his cousin is too precious and he’d make a good dad (he doesn’t know that Jisung is thinking the same thing about him too


	5. Chensung Buy A Frog

When they get the frog, Chenle obviously wants Jisung to help him name it. They throw out a lot of dumb ideas that the other hates. After a month the frog still has no name and they both just call it a bunch of random nicknames that they’ve declared are not his Real Name. they call the frog Fatso, Yoda, chunks, butterball, chubs, meatball, and Waldo (because they kept losing him when they turned around for 2 seconds lmao). None of these names seem like The One so sometimes they have a “meeting” to try and find new names for him.

They spend the entire month trying to find a name. Sometimes when they’re on the bus or something they blurt out random names but once they get down to it, and try to call the frog the suggested name, it just doesn’t Fit.

 

Yoda- “he’s small and green and full of wisdom! Why not name him Yoda?!?”

“He’s a frog how much wisdom can he have?”

Chenle rolled his eyes and took the frog Jisung.

“Name him Yoda, you must,” he said, shoving it in Jisung’s face.

 

Waldo- “We literally turned around for 2 seconds there’s no way he went far.”

“This is the worst Where’s Waldo game ever!”

“THAT’S BECAUSE WALDO ISN’T SUPPOSED TO MOVE!”

 

It takes a month and a half and they’re still not stuck on a solid idea. Hyuck ends up at Chenle’s house on a Saturday morning before they go hang out together with 00 line bc he still hasn’t gotten to meet the frog. He’s standing in the middle of Chenle’s room making fun of Jisung while Chenle grabs the frog out of the aquarium. Hyuck literally stops mid-sentence when he catches sight of the thing in Chenle’s hand.

“What the fuck?”

“This is our froggie,” Chenle says, plopping him into Hyuck’s hand.

“Holy shit, this is a fucking monster frog! He's like the fucking Goliath of frogs what do u feed this thing!?!"

Then Jisung screams and Hyuck’s just standing there, dumbfounded at the fat frog.

“Goliath!!” Jisung shouts, clapping his hands and bouncing with excitement.

“What about it?”

“That’s the frog’s name!! Goliath! Like that game we used to play when we were kids, the-“

“DAVID AND GOLIATH!” Chenle screams.

“YES WITH THE FOAM SWORDS. GOLIATH WAS BIG!! IF I CAN GET MY MOM TO GET ME ONE TOO, WE CAN NAME HIM DAVID!!”

Hyuck has no idea what’s going on so he’s just standing there, frog cupped in his hand as Chenle and Jisung screech and high five each other.


	6. Renjun's Birthday Surprise

Chenle and Renjun met when Chenle was 6 and had just moved to Korea from China. Renjun was an 8 year old who’d been in Korea for 6 months and he was assigned by their school to be Chenle’s mentor and to help him learn Korean and the culture. He was Chenle’s source of comfort and friendship until as he adjusted to his new life. They’ve remained like brothers ever since, so they always make a Big Deal out of important events in each other’s lives.

Chenle has to start Renjun’s birthday planning 2 months early with the help of Mark. He isn’t even sure if there’ll be a payoff at the end of it but it’s worth trying if he can pull it off. He does have to go behind Renjun’s back for it, but Mark agrees that the risk is worth taking. So Chenle enters one of Renjun’s art pieces into a contest. The winner gets their work presented in an art show which just so happens to be the day of Renjun’s birthday.

They spend the entire day giving him small surprises that include his favorite snacks and treating him to lunch. Jaemin and Jeno whisk Renjun off to the mall after his swim practice ends while Chenle, Jisung, Mark, and Donghyuck set up the surprise party and the cake. It’s nothing too big, but they ordered all of his favorite food and his favorite cake. And they all make a video of them, his friends, the swim team, and his family back in China wishing him a happy birthday.

Renjun is looking happy but emotional as he walks through the door and is bombarded with the cake and their singing. He’s over the moon as he sees all of his favorite things surrounded by his favorite people, who constructed the whole thing for him. The video makes him so happy he’s in tears and nearly strangling Chenle from hugging him so much.

He gets a lot of Moomin, art supplies, the jacket he’s been wanting for the past few months but didn’t have the pocket money to buy, and a few language books since he’s interested in picking up another one. Chenle informs Renjun that he’s paying for Renjun to take lessons with a well known ballet instructor in Korea. He also gifts him with new tights and spandex to practice in, as well as a new pair of ballet shoes. which gets Renjun feeling emotional again bc Chenle’s the best baby brother ever. Renjun’s been cautious to talk about ballet to other people since he is busy doing swim and the student council and barely has time for it at the moment, so he was surprised to see that Chenle remembered in the first place.

“Jisung helped too, stop crying all over me and give him a turn. It was his idea to find the instructor and he helped me pick out everything.”

Only Mark and Chenle know about the next gift, so they’re all feeling confused when Chenle says that there’s one last thing he needs to show Renjun. They’re even more confused when they take the bus and wind up at the art museum that Renjun likes to go to.

“Chenle asked me to help prepare something for you,” Mark shrugs when Renjun tries to ask him about it.

Chenle pulls out a blindfold – “where did you get that from?”- and ties it so Renjun can’t see. He carefully leads him to the art show. He skipped the first class to make sure everything was perfect and in order. He knows how much Renjun loves the paintings he and Mark picked out for the display. The whole thing feels very special and it glows with personality.

“Don’t be mad, but I kinda went behind your back for this….”

“Wha?”

Chenle lets the blindfold fall onto the floor and Renjun’s left gaping at the sight in front of him. They’re standing in the middle of the crowd, but Renjun’s standing right in front of his favorite painting. His favorite painting…..that’s being presented in the middle of an art show in his favorite museum. The one that people keep stopping and murmuring in admiration at.

Chenle doesn’t have time to react before Renjun’s crashing into him, crying and thanking him repeatedly. The air is knocked out of him, but he’s smiling and he’s glad Renjun’s happy with the gift.

“Mark helped too….why am I the only one getting cried on today??”

“I got cried on too,” Jeno says. “suck it up.”

“Who did you pay to set up my art here!?!?”

“Nobody. We entered you in a contest they were holding and you won fair and square. You told me sometimes you feel like your stuff is nothing special but look at you!! You’re in your favorite museum standing in front of your paintings on display!”

Renjun’s birthday is on a Friday so he ends up having Chenle stay the night with him. They stay up for a long time chatting about everything in their life that worries and excites them and about how Renjun’s going to go into his senior year soon. And then to art school soon after. They talk about everything exciting and scary and Renjun’s so happy and thankful he can’t sleep. Moving to Korea gave him the best friends in the world, and being assigned to mentor Chenle all those years ago gave him a brother nobody could replace. It’s the best birthday he’s ever had.


	7. Mark's Underground Rap Career

Chensung are still young, and even though Chenle’s a kid with a lot free reign, he does have a curfew. They both have to be home by 10 whenever they go out, so they can’t do that many fun teenager things. One time they do get to break the curfew, though, is after they convince their mothers to let them go watch Mark “perform”.

Mark is a good kid who’s on the student council and volleyball team. So when they say perform, their mothers assume Mark has taken up acting and is in the school play. Mark’s good at fooling people like this. Which is why their mothers agree to let them go……to the underground club where Mark goes to compete in rap battle competitions.

They set off and hop on the bus at 11:30 and arrive at the club by midnight. Mark doesn’t know that they’re coming, though, because their curfew is usually set for 2 hours ago. Chenle and Jisung still aren’t sure why both of their parents agreed to let them out so late. They’ve only heard Mark rap a handful of times, and hear 00 line rave about the competitions constantly. So to be able to experience the magic in person has them chattering with each other in excitement.

Getting in is easy, because this is one of the few clubs where minors are allowed. Mark is nowhere to be found when they enter the club, but it’s packed full of people whose excitement levels match Chenle and Jisung’s. Nobody really gives them a second glance except one girl who seems to take a liking to Chenle. There are hardly any tables and the bar doesn’t have alcohol behind the bar. The chatter is deafening, and they have to scream to be able to hear each other over it.

When the rap competition starts, Chenle and Jisung immediately see why 00 line get so excited when they talk about it. Chenle’s imitating the rappers and their flow, moving his hands and making a face Jisung assumes is meant to be cool and sexy. Soon, they’re jumping up and down and screaming with everyone else as the boys on the stage diss each other.

“Oh shit, it’s Mark!!!” Jisung yells over the music and the cheering of the people around them.

As soon as Mark starts rapping, Chenle and Jisung are screaming at the top of their lungs. Both of them are jumping and shouting and it’s the best feeling in the world to be together in the club like this supporting Mark and hanging out. They don’t sit down or stop screaming and shouting the entire night. Mark is even better than they remember him being, and they feel a sense of pride seeing their best friend obliterating the competition. The club attendees vote for who wins, and apparently Mark’s on his 5 win streak and he’s just added a 6th.

Finding Mark in the crowd is hard, but luckily Jisung’s tall and able to spot him after 5 minutes of searching. Chenle is the first to crash into him and starts screaming and congratulating him on his win. Jisung’s quick to join in and Mark laughs when Jisung lifts him off the ground.

“HOW THE FUCK ARE YOU SUCH A GOODY TWO SHOES WHEN YOU CAN RAP LIKE THAT!?!?” Jisung asks.

“I still have morals, Jisung,” Mark laughs.

“IF MY MOM MET YOU AND HEARD YOU RAP LIKE THAT I WOULD LITERALLY NEVER BE ALLOWED TO HANG OUT WITH YOU EVER AGAIN. SHE WOULD CALL YOU A BAD INFLUENCE AND FORBID ME FROM BEING YOUR FRIEND. THAT WAS SO SICK!!”

“HOW DO YOU HIDE BEING AN ABSOLUTE RAP KING FROM EVERYONE??”

“It just doesn’t come up in conversation,” Mark shrugs as they walk out of the club. “Come on, I’ll buy you something to eat on the way home.”

Mark gets an earful of excited chatter from Chenle and Jisung as they huddle together in the convenience store with their late night snack. He doesn’t mind too much, though, because it’s nice to see his friends so excited about his passion. He suspects if Chenle and Jisung can convince their mothers to let them go, he’ll be having more nights like this. It’s almost 2 am, but they’re all so hopped up on the energy from the club that none of them will probably be getting any sleep tonight.

They part ways as Mark boards his bus home and Chenle and Jisung make their way home. It’s well into the night when they get back to Chenle’s apartment, but sleep is the last thing on their minds. They spend the entire night in Chenle’s room reliving the night, and Chenle tries to rap some more which makes Jisung laugh so loud he’s pretty sure he almost woke up Chenle’s mom.

They both crash at 8 am, sprawled out on the bed together in the clothes they left in. Chenle’s mom doesn’t bother to wake them up when she goes to check on them that afternoon.


	8. The Accidental Confession

Chensung like to goof around with each other a lot, which sometimes leads to pushing and shoving lightly. Sometimes, though, you happen to be near a pond. And maybe one time Jisung accidentally maybe kinda pushed Chenle into said pond when they were hanging out. Maybe. It’s not like Chenle got hurt or anything. Just……….soaked

Chenle’s lucky that Jisung’s soccer practice had gotten cancelled but that Jisung was still carrying his practice clothes in his bag (with the puppy teddy oops) Jisung  feels guilty and they have to find a park bathroom for Chenle to change in. And maybe sometimes when u accidentally push your friend into a pond and have to give him your clothes…..you really like the way he looks in them. And MAYBE Jisung realizes that Chenle’s super adorable and that maybe he loves him more than he should.

-

Jisung literally avoids Chenle for a week or so after the day he pushed him into the pond and realized he liked him as More Than A Friend. Jisung's never really felt bad about his sexuality, but it freaks him out that this could ruin their entire friendship. Then he starts missing Chenle a lot and Chenle won't stop messaging him frowny faces so they hang out again and Jisung just lowkey has mental breakdowns the entire time.

-

It isn't too long after the whole pond incident, though, that Chenle's sitting down on Jisung's bed with his teddy tucked under his chin sighing and asking "hey, could you do me a favor?"

"Sure, I guess. what is it?"

"I have this crush on someone. is it okay if i just talk your ear off in Chinese about them?"

Jisung's heart stutters and he feels it start to sink but he agrees because he loves Chenle and forces himself to listen to him ramble in words he doesn't want to know

Jisung knows that Chenle likes boys. They never keep anything from each other. Well, until now. Jisung didn’t even mean to develop a crush on him, it just sort of happened. Clicked for him when he was hanging out with Chenle and watching him smile and laugh. The part that made his heart stutter the most, though, was the moment Chenle stepped out of the park bathroom stall wearing Jisung’s soccer clothes. And Jisung’s been trying to avoid acknowledging those feelings since. Chenle was too special to lose, so he kept quiet.

Chenle’s had crushes before, but now it’s the first time Chenle likes someone at the same time Jisung’s trying to hide away his feelings. Jisung’s heart continues to sink and he has to emotionally remove himself from the situation because he’s pretty sure he might actually cry if he doesn’t. He ignores his feelings. Chenle looks too happy and in love for Jisung to feel spiteful because as shitty as this whole thing is turning out to be, Jisung just wants Chenle to be happy.

It takes a good 10 minutes for Chenle to even slow down in his rapid Chinese chattering about some boy Jisung’s going to be eternally jealous of. There’s another 4 minutes of scattered comments and then Chenle just sits back with a smile and says, “sorry. I just had to get it off my chest.”

“You talk a lot,” Jisung says, and Chenle looks hurt at the tinge of annoyance in Jisung’s voice.

“uh-“

“I can’t believe your dumb ass didn’t tell me sooner, look how happy he makes you,” Jisung adds before Chenle can get upset.

Chenle’s grin is worth the pain Jisung’s feeling at the moment.

-

Weeks go by, and Chenle spends at least 40 minutes a week telling Jisung about his crush. It doesn’t seem like a long time until Jisung’s heart is ripping itself into shreds the more Chenle rambles. Chenle keeps asking Jisung if he has anyone he likes, and he always awkwardly stutters out a “no!! who is there around here that’s worth liking??” he doesn’t catch Chenle’s frown as he jets into the ice cream shop before he slips up.

Jisung’s heard a lifetime of words about Chenle’s new crush. He and Jisung hang out just as often as usual, so Jisung’s wondering where in the world this crush of Chenle’s is hiding. He never points someone out like he usually does, so Jisung’s hurt and confused and wondering who’s so wonderful that Chenle’s in love with them. But then he worries, because Chenle points out every crush to Jisung. Except not this one, the one Chenle actually sounds in love with. It makes him nervous. Who is good enough for Chenle to fall in love with, but unworthy of showing their face to Jisung??

Even if Jisung had any confidence to tell Chenle his feelings, seeing him like this now would’ve killed it before it could set in. Jisung admittedly becomes more quiet, afraid to reveal himself by accident. It’s almost dance competition season, so he starts practice earlier in the year than usual to avoid letting anything happen. He’s just giving Chenle more time to hang out with the boy Jisung’s envious of, anyways. It’s a win-win situation for both of them.

-

As much as Jisung resents his accidental feelings and Chenle’s crush on a boy who’s not him, he still loves and cherishes Chenle and their friendship. He misses the kid and he’s not sure why he’s trying to deprive himself of spending time with his favorite person. So one day he gets fed up, ends practice early, and goes to find Chenle at the place he knows Chenle and Renjun go for tutoring Korean. Jisung’s proud that Chenle finally got good enough at the language to help little kids learn and adjust to the move from China.

The bus runs a little late, but Jisung’s running into the building as soon as he knows that Chenle’s tutoring session is ending. It takes him a few minutes to find him, duffle bag slapping into him painfully as he runs. He stops though, when he sees Chenle gesturing widely and ranting to Renjun. Jisung doesn’t even have to listen to recognize the movements Chenle makes when he’s chattering away about his crush, and his heart stumbles a little and the high of wanting to see Chenle is beginning to wean.

Jisung pushes on, though, because he misses Chenle and he’s not going to let their conflicting crushes ruin his day. He takes a deep breath and walks over to them, Chenle’s back facing him. He doesn’t get far before he’s caught in his tracks like a deer in the headlights. For once, Chenle’s crush rambling is being spoken in Korean, and Jisung doesn’t mean to eavesdrop, but he’s been so curious and he’s so shocked to hear it in a language he understands.

The more Chenle talks, the more the crush sounds familiar to Jisung. He’s talking about him being a dancer, the soccer game he has tomorrow, and the friendship that’s last almost an entire lifetime. Jisung’s in denial that it’s him, because they’re just small similarities until Chenle does it. Chenle says the words “best friend” and “in love with” and Jisung’s maybe not being so stupid in this moment, because the only person Chenle calls his best friend is Jisung. It’s been that way since they were kids.

Renjun asks why he doesn’t just tell, and his eyes widen when he sees Jisung standing there, looking petrified and cheeks rosy. He’s trying to stop Chenle from answering, but it’s too late because now Chenle’s shouting.

“I CAN’T JUST TELL JISUNG I’M IN LOVE WITH HIM!! WHAT WILL HE THINK!?!?”

Renjun does the stupidest thing in his panic, and whips Chenle around to face Jisung, who’s standing a few feet away with a red face and eyes distant.

“Jisung!! HI!!” Chenle says, because he didn’t realize he wasn’t speaking in Chinese to Renjun.

Chenle doesn’t even get out a smile or another word, because Jisung seems to reanimate then, and he’s bolting into the hallway where the classrooms are held.

“Where did he…..?”

“YOU WERE SPEAKING IN KOREAN, YOU DUMBASS. HE HEARD YOU!!” Renjun screams in his panic.

Chenle’s heart drops to his toes, and his stomach goes with it.

“I—what?”

“He heard everything, I didn’t have time to stop you!! I don’t even know how long he was standing there, but you were speaking Korean the entire time!!”

Chenle’s heartbeat picks up.

“What do I do? What the fuck what do I do?”

“GO AFTER HIM YOU MORON. EXPLAIN!!”

Chenle almost trips over his own feet as Renjun shoves him toward the hallways. Everyone has already left for the day, so it’s not hard to find Jisung sitting outside of a classroom. He’s hiccupping, face tinted bright red and at the tail end of crying. Chenle’s heart is going a mile a minute and he’s sure he’s ruined everything between them.

“Jisung…..I can explain. I didn’t know how to tell you—it just sort of happened…..”

He kneels in front of his crying best friend. The last thing he expects is the bone crushing hug Jisung pulls him into, pressing Chenle’s face to his chest as the crying starts up again. It’s quiet for a few moments, and Chenle’s feeling nervous the longer Jisung almost strangles him in the hug.

“Jisung, I know you probably hate me but please don’t choke me to death,” Chenle croaks.

“You’re such a stupid fucking idiot,” Jisung cries. “The stupidest fucking idiot in the world. Stupid and selfless and always taking care of me and my mom. Chenle, you’re in love with me.”

“I know, I’m sorry….”

“As soon as I heard you had a crush I was so afraid you wouldn’t love me back,” Jisung sniffles. “I was so fucking jealous of him. Chenle, you love me!”

“You weren’t supposed to hear—”

“—I love you, too, you moron! You have no idea how relieved I am that you love me back.”

Chenle finally escapes Jisung’s death grip and uses his sleeve to wipe Jisung’s face. Both of them have smiles on their faces and Jisung laughs.

“What are you crying for, then?”

“I’m really happy.”

Jisung flinches away from Chenle’s sleeve, face scrunching up as it scrubs away at his face.

“Stop it, I don’t want snot on my face after I kiss you,” Chenle scolds casually.

They’re both flushing bright red at the comment, and Chenle quickly adds.

“If that’s fine with you. The kissing thing—”

Jisung cuts him off by beating him to the chase, and Chenle’s cheeks are squished under his hands as he kisses him. Jisung wishes he could freeze the moment forever.


	9. Jisung's Fear of Dogs

Chenle first becomes Jisung’s self-proclaimed protector when Jisung is 7 and a 10 year old pushes him off of the monkey bars at the park. Jisung ends up with a sprained wrist and Chenle ends up being grounded for a few weeks. He manages to convince Jisung’s mom to let him go to the hospital with them, and while there Chenle tells Jisung that he’s going to be his protector for the rest of his life. He becomes Jisung’s helper in class, and Chenle proudly puffs out his chest and says “I’m going to protect you from everything scary for the rest of forever.”

Being Jisung’s self-proclaimed protector, Chenle realizes, is not as easy as his 8 year old self thought it would be. Jisung was never really subject to bullying, so Chenle thinks it’s going to be a piece of cake. What he doesn’t realize until a few years later, though, is that being Jisung’s protector takes a lot of work. Jisung’s scared of a lot of things, and usually ends up with his legs shaking and voice wavering as he tells Chenle about what’s spooking him.

Spiders, cockroaches, sudden noises, amusement park rides, and scary movies all make Jisung leap out of his seat in fear. Donghyuck once set Jisung’s ipod screen to a photo of a cockroach and Jisung screamed, fell out of his seat, and broke his ipod after throwing it to the ground in his panic. So Chenle sometimes wonders why he signed up for protecting Jisung from EVERYTHING he was afraid of. Most of Jisung’s fears don’t affect his daily life, and the fear is gone within a few minutes of him being startled. But there’s one fear Jisung’s had since he was a kid. Chenle isn’t quite sure what caused it, because it’s been around almost as long as they’ve been friends.

Jisung misses a few days of school once a few months into their new friendship. It’s the first time it happens and he shows back up with wide eyes, a quiet demeanor, and he’s very beaten up. There are scratches all over his legs, arms, and face and they’re accompanied by a littering of bruises and a few large bandages. Chenle has the sense to ask Jisung’s mom about it instead of Jisung himself, but she just tells him that it’s left Jisung shaken up and not to ask.

Chenle has a few guesses, because Jisung has a few things he refuses adamantly. Amusement parks are out of the question—the injuries would’ve been worse and Jisung most likely wasn’t at an amusement park on a Monday after school hours. It’s been 9 years, and Chenle still hasn’t asked Jisung what happened that day. Not when he asks Jisung’s mom when they’re 13 and she says it still affects him.

It isn’t until they’re at an animal shelter doing some volunteering that Chenle gets a pretty good idea as to what happened to Jisung when he was 6. It isn’t too noticeable at first, because Jisung has the tendency to hang around the cats. He startles occasionally when he gets distracted talking to Chenle and a cat bumps into his hand wanting to be pet. But he also takes a liking to the kittens, and he holds them in his lap a lot.

Jisung doesn’t mind the little dogs either, but it’s when a German Shepherd comes into the room that he startles and backs up against the wall. He eventually unsticks himself from the wall and tries to give Chenle a smile when he notices his staring. Then the dog barks in excitement at one of the other volunteers and Jisung flinches. Hard. Chenle meets his expression of surprise and instead of acknowledging what just happened, he just asks:

“Do you wanna go back to the cats? I think everyone has the dogs covered.”

And Jisung’s total relief at the question is glaringly obvious as he nods. A happy Border Collie bumps into his legs and Jisung almost screams. His hand clutches Chenle’s, and Chenle can feel him shaking and starting to panic as he leads him through the shelter to where the kittens are housed. Jisung remains on edge the entire time, and when they run into another large dog that they have to share an elevator with, Jisung’s hiding in the corner and his legs are shaking.

Jisung’s fear of big dogs isn’t exactly new. It’s one of the most long-term fears of his. Any time they see a big dog Jisung gets jumpy and he has the tendency to hide himself behind Chenle.

“Can I ask you something?” Chenle asks when they’ve reached his apartment and Jisung’s beginning to settle down.

“Um—”

“you don’t have to answer, I was just curious.”

Jisung agrees reluctantly.

“When we were kids and you showed up to school with all the bruises and band aids……what happened to you??”

“You…..you remember that?” Jisung asks weakly.

“Yeah, I’ve always been curious. You just….never talked about it.”

 

Jisung’s quiet for a long time, and then he sighs.

“I was playing in my neighborhood with my cousin. One of the neighbors had a big dog that they usually kept on a chain. Some kid who lived by me enjoyed pissing him off all the time and I guess he just got done with messing with the dog because he was walking away and the dog was barking really loud and trying to get to him. Me and my cousin were across the street and you could hear the chain snap. The dog had gotten so pissed he finally broke it and the kid started running away and he was trying to save himself from the dog so when he ran by me, he threw me down in his path.”

Chenle’s sitting in shocked silence at the audacity of the kid to throw Jisung in the way.

“The dog wasn’t on me for long. I don’t know what made him stop attacking me. I just remember screaming and crying as he tried to scratch me and rip my leg away. I was in the hospital for a couple of days, had to get some stitches and a little bit of surgery to make sure everything healed properly….big dogs just freak me out. I know it’s dumb because it happened so long ago, but big dogs still freak me out. I wish I wasn’t such a wimp about it but then I see a big dog and—”

“That’s a totally reasonable fear, nobody would judge you for being a wi—”

“I DON’T WANT TO BE SUCH A WIMP, OKAY?!? It sounds so fucking stupid having to tell someone that you’re deathly afraid of dogs bigger than a Corgi!! It’s a fucking joke!!”

“Seriously?”

“Yes, you asshole! If it’s bigger than a Corgi—”

“I don’t care how big the dog is. You really want to overcome your fear?”

“I’m tired of feeling like a moron when I have to tell people.”

“I can try to help….”

-

They go back to the shelter the next day, and Chenle tells Jisung to tap out as soon as he’s feeling too uncomfortable to continue. They spend some time with the kittens to get Jisung calm and then Chenle brings him into the room where the bigger dogs are kept. Jisung looks pale and nervous, wiping his hands on his jeans and taking a shuddering breath as they sit down. Chenle forces him to look him in the eyes and talk as if there’s no dog in the room. It takes Jisung 6 minutes to tap out of being in close proximity to a Boxer.

“You’re alright,” Chenle says encouragingly as they leave. “The dog didn’t even try to bother you.”

Jisung pauses for a moment and supposes that yeah, the dog didn’t go near them at all. But it doesn’t quell the anxiety when they come back 2 days later with a bigger, more friendly dog. It trots over to nuzzle at his lap and bumps his hand trying to get Jisung to pet it.

“He’s happy to see you,” Chenle says.

But Jisung’s too busy focusing on the teeth to move. His head snaps up when Chenle grabs his hand.

“We can either try to pet him, or we can leave,” he tells Jisung.

Jisung can see his hand shaking and Chenle’s fingers wrapped around his wrist. The dog whines and he stands up, the chair making a loud noise as he bolts out of the room and out of Chenle’s grip.

-

It takes 2 and a half months for Jisung to get acquainted with being in the same space as a big dog. He still gets uncomfortable if the dog’s too excitable and flinches slightly when one of them barks. Chenle sings and chats with him in a soothing voice the entire time and they always leave the situation if Jisung’s even a little freaked out.

The dog Jisung tends to run away from still seeks his affection, and he’s gotten better at enduring the nuzzling of the dog.

“He must really want you to pet him,” Chenle laughs softly 3 months into their project.

Jisung’s wide eyes meet his and Chenle’s face drops from the smile.

“You don’t have to, I just think it’s funny that he likes you a lot.”

“Force me to pet him,” Jisung says.

“Jisung, I’m not going to force—”

“Grab my hand and help me stop being such a wimp.”

Jisung stands up from his chair and holds out his arm. Chenle wraps his fingers cautiously around Jisung’s wrist. His stare feels like it’s burning into Jisung’s cheek, so he closes his eyes and leans back as far as possible.

“Make me pet him,” Jisung croaks.

Jisung jumps when Chenle moves his hand, and his breath hitches in his throat as he feels the tickle of the dog’s nose. His hand wavers and he can sense the dog beneath it, and then Chenle lowers it a little.

“You’re sure?” he asks.

“Um……yes.”

Jisung gulps and he flinches when the dog’s soft fur touches his fingers. He feels Chenle force him to run his hand across the dog’s back, feels the dog breathing beneath his hand. They’re both still for a minute, so Jisung opens his eyes and sees his hand resting on top of the dog. His chuckle is barely inaudible, but Chenle still catches it.

“I pet the dog,” Jisung says.

“You’re still petting him,” Chenle reminds him.

“I did it.”

“I know. I’m proud of you.”

-

It takes another month for Jisung to become more comfortable with the dogs, even if he just stands in the corner while Chenle gives them a bath. Even if he’s not totally cool with dogs and the excitable ones still make him anxious, Chenle’s helped him come a long way from the traumatized 6 year old he used to turn into. Whenever he tries to tell Chenle that he’ll never be able to repay him, Chenle just shakes his head and says, “there’s nothing to repay. You’re my best friend, it’s my job to make sure you’re happy.”


	10. Chensung Take On Photography

Jisung’s mother buys him a camera for his birthday along with a nice telescope so he can take picture of the stars/night sky. He and Chenle spend a lot of nights out on Chenle’s balcony taking turns looking and taking pictures through the telescope. One night when they’re done cleaning up, Jisung starts goofing off with the camera, and takes a photo of Chenle nuzzled up to his teddy while he’s distracted. The slight pout on his face and the softness of the worn teddy makes Jisung’s heart melt, so he takes a few more.

It takes a few seconds for Chenle to notice the sound of camera shutter and he snaps out of his own little world to direct the pout at Jisung.

“Stop taking pictures of me,” Chenle whines.

Jisung picks up the camera and snaps another photo of Chenle with a smile.

“You look cute,” Jisung chirps.

“If you’re gonna take pictures of me, then I get to take stupid pictures of you, too!” Chenle says.

He wrestles the camera out of Jisung’s grip and sticks out his tongue.

“Well, go ahead,” Jisung says.

“No, you took photos of me when I wasn’t paying attention. I’m gonna get you back!!”

Chenle leaves the camera strap hanging around his neck and he brings it with them as they run down to the 24 hr convenience store to buy late night snacks. The walk isn’t long, but it’s almost 1 am on a Friday. Chenle stops to take a few pictures of the moon and some things that catch his eye (like the flowers growing under a street lamp).

“I don’t think this is what your mom meant when she told us to eat well,” Jisung says, recalling Chenle’s mother bidding them goodbye as she left on a weekend trip with Chenle’s father.

“Ah, shut up and go write your book on the couch while I make tteokbokki,” Chenle says, shooing Jisung away as he unloads the bags.

Jisung’s quiet for a long time as Chenle heats up the stove. Chenle realizes he doesn’t hear any of the sounds Jisung makes when he gets ideas, so he picks up an empty water bottle to throw at him. When he turns around, though, Jisung’s curled up on the couch fast asleep. Chenle chuckles, puts the water bottle down, and picks up the camera instead. It isn’t even payback, really. Jisung just so happens to look adorable with his book tucked into him as he sleeps on the couch.

“I wonder how long it’ll take you to notice,” Chenle murmurs quietly as he snaps the photos.

He sets the camera on the counter and doesn’t bother to wake Jisung for the food. The kid’s been looking tired and run down, so Chenle just lets him keep sleeping. Chenle finishes his food and transfers the photos of Jisung sleeping to his laptop because he knows they’ll probably be deleted as soon as Jisung finds them.

Jisung wakes up 5 minutes after Chenle transfers the photos and Chenle reheats the late dinner for him. They both curl up together in Chenle’s bed as soon as Jisung finishes eating and retire for the night.

-

Over the course of the next few days, Jisung and Chenle take photos of almost anything they find interesting. There are candids of each other, photos of flowers, their frog, and a few photos they took of their teddies in the park. They end up babysitting Jisung’s cousin over the weekend and they take candid photos of each other playing with her. Chenle transfers the one of Jisung playing dolls with her to his laptop; he knows Jisung’s gonna delete it as soon as he finds it.

-

“What are you two losers goofing around with now?” Donghyuck asks when Chenle bounds up to the soccer field after practice ends. The camera is hanging around his neck, full of new photos of the team (mostly Jisung) practicing.

He lifts the camera off of Chenle’s chest. Chenle wiggles out of the strap and Hyuck turns it on and flips through the photos. Jaemin comes to stand over his shoulder and the two flip through the photos together as Chenle and Jisung kick a soccer ball around.

“There’s no way you two took these!!” Jaemin calls.

Chenle looks up from the soccer ball, sweat beginning to trickle down his face in the heat.

“What?”

“Whose camera are you carrying around?” Hyuck asks, shaking it.

“Jisung’s!” Chenle replies, kicking the ball and trying to avoid getting it stolen.

“No, really!!”

“Really!! It’s Sungie’s camera. His mom bought it for him so we could take pictures through his new telescope.”

“Wait, you two really took these?” Hyuck asks.

“I don’t see who else would’ve,” Jisung says indignantly. “It’s fun to goof around on.”

Jisung rolls his eyes at their constant questions. He doesn’t know what’s so interesting about the pictures they take for fun. Some of them are a little odd, sure, but it’s not like the pictures are terrible. He kicks the ball into the goal as Hyuck and Jaemin approach them. Jaemin grabs the ball before Chenle can steal it and holds it out of reach.

“Seriously, whose camera did you losers steal??” he insists.

“Nobody’s!!” Chenle whines. “What are you asking so many questions for? Are we not allowed to play with Jisung’s camera??”

“There’s no way you two took these!” Hyuck says.

“Why?!?!”

“They’re too good to be taken by two kids who like to half ass new hobbies 24/7.”

Jisung’s eyebrows pull down and he and Chenle share a look.

“You think they’re good?” he asks.

“Anyone with eyes probably would,” Jaemin replies.

“This looks like some photography blog bullshit.”

-

Jisung and Chenle go back to Chenle’s apartment to upload their latest photos and clear up the memory card of the camera.

“It does kind of look like those dumb blogs,” Chenle says when they look at their photos on the computer.

“Kind of,” Jisung says.

Chenle raises his eyebrow and types in the name of a famous blogging website. When Jisung doesn’t protest, he clicks ‘Sign Up!’ and suddenly Chenle and Jisung have a photography blog and a few posts of flowers and the stars.

-

Within a few weeks their blog is steadily gathering posts and with the new photos come followers and comments. Their latest upload is a photo of Jisung doing his homework at the table of a café and someone comments “how did you hire a model for your blog??” and “this model….he’s so pretty. How did you get a male model for such a new blog?”

Jisung avoids them, but Chenle reads them out loud and watches Jisung’s cheeks get redder and redder with every new comment. He ends up tackling Chenle and takes the phone hostage. With red cheeks he edits a new photo and posts it.

“HEY!!! WHAT’S THIS!!” Chenle yells when Jisung comes back from the kitchen with their drinks.

“What?” Jisung asks innocently.

“YOU POSTED A PHOTO OF ME.”

Jisung smirks, and instead of replying he pulls up the comments and gives Chenle a taste of his own medicine. Chenle’s cheeks are burning as Jisung loudly reads the comments about how cute Chenle is, and the people wondering how they managed to score 2 male models for their relatively new blog.

-

The blog becomes one of the Top 50 within a few months, and people in the comments refuse to believe Jisung and Chenle when they try to claim that they own the blog. They keep asking who the male models are so they can hire them, and once school work and test times kick back in, they can’t post as much anymore. Eventually they start harboring the more personal photos and start up a new blog instead where Chenle and Jisung post about their model plane and space obsessions.

The original blog is still popular, and they update once a week or so. But Chenle and Jisung are happier to be sitting in a café together writing blog posts about their passions instead of being hounded about the boys in their pictures. Sometimes they still make an appearance in photos of their hands clasped together, or in silhouettes of them that Renjun takes when they’re not looking.

The blog about space and model planes isn’t as popular as the first one they made, but Chenle and Jisung are more content to blog about their passions together. Popularity wasn’t really their goal in the first place, but they finally did find a hobby that stuck with them even if they test out more on the side.


	11. Chenle Gets Babied

In the cooler months of the year, Chenle always checks the weather and then subsequently forgets to grab his jacket on the way out the door. Jisung asks him about every morning.

Chenle swallows every complaint he wants to make and instead shakes his head and says “I’m fine.”

Jisung lets it slide.

Well, until it’s a few hours into the school day and Chenle’s starting to shiver. So Jisung rolls his eyes and drags Chenle over to his locker.

“What?” Chenle asks.

“Here, you’re cold.”

Jisung pulls out an extra jacket and Chenle tries to protest, saying he isn’t even cold ~~(you’re shivering, Chenle, I think he knows)~~. Ofc Chenle shivers again and then Jisung’s tugging the coat over him and rolling up the sleeves a little ~~(Chenle’s a baby, okay?)~~

“Don’t be a moron and get sick just because you don’t want to admit that you forgot your jacket this morning,” Jisung says.

“I didn—”

“Yes you did, stupid. Just wear the damn jacket.”

Chenle glares at Jisung with a barely concealed pout. When Jisung doesn’t back down, he sighs.

“Fine, but only today.”

-

Jisung smirks all day whenever he catches sight of Chenle. The jacket’s a little big for him, and Jisung is loving every second of it. When they pass each other in the hallway he sees that Chenle has unrolled the sleeves so now he’s walking around with sweater paws. He looks soft and cute, although Jisung would never admit it aloud.

“You’re an asshole, it isn’t funny!” Chenle says.

Jisung’s smirking at him, waiting for him outside of Chenle’s last class. Chenle flails his arms at him indignantly and slaps Jisung with the sleeves. Jisung laughs, which makes the pout of Chenle’s face grow.  Jisung pinches his cheek.

“What a cute little baby!” Jisung teases, laughing as Chenle glares at him.

“Stop it,” Chenle says, trying to pull away.

“Look at the little baby!! Do you need help finding your way back home or can you make it by yourself, little guy?”

“Take the jacket back, asswipe!!” Chenle snaps, throwing the jacket in Jisung’s face and walking out of the school while Jisung’s still standing in shock and confusion.

It takes Jisung a moment to gather what just happened, but he unfreezes and chases Chenle down the hallway. He grabs onto Chenle’s arm, making Chenle wrench himself out of his grip. He steps out into the brisk October air, and Jisung’s one step behind him.

“Leave me alone, I said it wasn’t funny!”

“Put the jacket back on. It’s cold outside, stupid.”

“I don’t want it anymore, you keep it!”

“Hey!” Jisung snaps, and Chenle turns around at the sudden anger. “What the fuck is your problem!?! It’s a goddamn jacket, just wear it! You’re going to catch a cold, moron!”

“My problem is you making fun of me!” Chenle says. “You don’t think I don’t see you smirking whenever you see me wearing it? Because I do. I know you’re enjoying this and finding it hilarious but it’s not funny!!”

“I always make fun of you, so what’s the big deal?”

“I just wanna feel nice and comfy in my boyfriend’s jacket but instead he just keeps laughing at me and making fun of me. It’s not nice anymore when all you do is laugh when you see me. I don’t want the fucking jacket anymore, alright?” Chenle sighs.

Jisung follows after him and they walk to a convenience store a few blocks away. Chenle’s shivering in the cold, and the wind outside isn’t helping him warm up, either. They sit down across from each other and Chenle doesn’t even acknowledge him as he starts to eat his ramen with a violent shiver. Jisung gets up and drapes the jacket over Chenle’s shoulders. He tucks his chin on top of his head and back hugs Chenle.

“You’re shivering,” Jisung comments.

“Yeah, in disgust because you’re hugging me.”

“I didn’t mean to make fun of you,” Jisung says, voice vibrating against Chenle’s back. “You looked very cute in my hoodie. It just makes me smile whenever I see you wearing it. It was really cute.”

“I hate you,” Chenle says quietly.

“I know.”

Jisung moves to go back to his seat, but Chenle grabs his arms and holds him in place.

“What?”

“Nothing, just stay there for a minute,” Chenle says, but Jisung can tell something’s up.

“Why?”

“You made me blush, stupid. I don’t want you to see it,” Chenle admits.

“I’m sorry I made fun of you today.”

“Ah, just shut up and eat your damn ramen with me.”

Jisung presses a kiss to Chenle’s temple, making Chenle freeze.

“Nevermind, go to hell,” he croaks.

“Love you.”

“Mhm.”


	12. Babysitter Jisung

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Hey, did you know that Zhong Chenle plays with barbie dolls?” Jisung murmurs, half asleep.
> 
> “No way, I heard that lame Jisung Park kid does too.”

Although Jisung’s soft and he tells Chenle everything, he still gets embarrassed easily. So when his cousin gets older and starts walking and talking, she also asks him to play games with her. It starts with small imagination games that Jisung can write off if someone catches him playing with her. And then she starts bringing over tiaras and crowns and makes him a king and sometimes her servant.

It’s not until her 4th birthday that she gets dolls and insists on Jisung playing them with her. He’s an embarrassed 14 year old boy, so the first couple of times he refuses. He feels bad when she starts crying and he feels shitty when she pouts and sticks to his mom instead for the rest of the day. When he finally gives in, he does so unwillingly. Like, extremely unwillingly. But the smile on her face when he sighs and takes the offered baby doll is worth it.

Jisung’s awkward and he’s not used to having to use his imagination for something that’s not the books he writes. His cousin likes to pretend the baby’s alive and she wants to play house with him for hours on end. He hates every second of it, but he likes to see the kid happy so he makes sure they’re in a place where he’s never going to get caught playing dolls with her.

Chenle comes over at some point and they take her to the park. His cousin insists that they take the doll with them and she tries to get him to push it in the swing with her. Even if he’s obviously embarrassed and looks like he wants the ground to swallow him whole, he bites his lip and looks to Chenle for help. Chenle is too busy smiling like he’s enjoying this too much and just shakes his head.

“I hate that stupid baby doll,” he groans on his bed when his aunt finally picks her up.

“It’s cute,” Chenle says. “She really likes that doll.”

“She makes us pretend it’s real, Chenle!”

“She’s a little kid, she thinks it’s fun!”

“Doesn’t change the fact that I hate that doll.”

-

Jisung still plays dolls with her when they’re hidden away in his room, the furthest room in the apartment. He’d hear Chenle coming if he decided to visit. So his cousin keeps coming over with her babies and barbies and Jisung begrudgingly goes along with the game to make her happy. The game usually ends with she runs up to him and tackles him into a hug, wrapping her arms around his neck and squishing their cheeks together. It hurts and it’s a little rough, so he tickles her to lessen her grip and she falls in his lap screaming with laughter. Jisung’s not quite so sure he likes like kids, but his cousin is one of his favorite people to be with.

They’ve been playing dolls for about 7 months and she starts to prefer barbies over babies. Jisung’s not sure this is the better of the two, because she makes them do more feminine things as they play pretend with the dolls. She only dresses them up in skirts and dresses and says she doesn’t want a “yucky boy barbie” so Jisung is stuck playing pretend with barbie’s friend.

He’s used to how the game goes by now, and he’s just thankful that the stuff toys get incorporated as well. The barbies fly on her stuffed dragon and fight wars against Jisung’s puppy teddy. Without realizing it, he gets sucked into the game and playing along to please his cousin. So he doesn’t notice the sound of the front door opening, or the footsteps down the hallway. He jumps in surprise when his bedroom door opens and his wide eyes meet Chenle’s smiling ones.

“Uh, here, play with this while I go get us a snack,” Jisung says, shoving the barbie into her hand like he wasn’t just playing dolls with her.

Chenle’s smirking as he follows Jisung through the hallway and into the kitchen.

“So….”

“What, Chenle?” Jisung asks, trying to act like he wasn’t just caught playing dolls with a 4 year old.

“Nothing, was just gonna ask what we’re having for snack time.”

“Probably just kimbap,” Jisung replies.

Chenle shadows Jisung while he reheats the food and grabs a few drinks for them.

“So…..when are we gonna play with barbies again?” Chenle asks when they start to leave the kitchen.

Jisung freezes in his spot, and puts the food down to choke Chenle out.

“You saw nothing!”

“I totally saw Jisung Park playing barbies with a little kid!” Chenle crows, and Jisung slaps a hand over his mouth.

“Shut up, she cries if I don’t play those stupid dolls with her.”

“Jisung Park plays baby games!!” Chenle shouts when Jisung removes his hand.

“SHUT UP!”

Jisung’s beet red and starting to shake with a mixture of anger and embarrassment.

“Oh my god, you really can’t tell her no!!” Chenle laughs. “That’s so cute. Jisung Park plays barbies with his baby cousin.”

Jisung pushes past him and stomps back to his room where his cousin is waiting for him. Chenle’s laughing the entire way down the hallway and Jisung trips him on his way back in. Thankfully, the food makes him shut up for a while. Jisung leaves to clean up and sees his cousin climb into Chenle’s lap as he goes. What he doesn’t expect to see as he walks back in is Chenle grabbing one of the barbies from his cousin’s outstretched hand.

He keeps quiet, but raises an eyebrow at him. They don’t mention it as they babysit or when they take her to the park and she runs ahead of them. They tire her out and she falls asleep on Jisung’s bed. Nobody mentions it when they watch TV together while she sleeps or when her mother comes to pick her up and asks how the day goes. Then they’re lying on Jisung’s bed together, worn out and on the verge of sleep.

“Hey, did you know that Zhong Chenle plays with barbie dolls?” Jisung murmurs, half asleep.

“No way, I heard that lame Jisung Park kid does too.”


	13. Hair Dye Antics

Chenle and Jisung take up an interest in dying their hair after Mark goes blonde and Donghyuck dyes his hair red. They talk about it constantly, chatting about which hair colors they’d like and how it unfair that even goody two shoes Renjun got to dye his hair as well. When Jeno bleaches his hair and Jaemin also goes light brown, Chenle and Jisung are starting to feel the limitations of being younger than their entire friend group.

All of their friends have jobs, and as soon as their parents agree to let them dye their hair using their own money, they can go and get it done the next day. Even though Chenle is rich, his mom scolds him when he asks about it.

“You’re 15, what do you need to be dying your hair for?”

“Mom! Everyone else has their hair dyed but me and Jisung! Don’t you think I’d look nice with a different hair color??”

“How fair would it be to Jisung if you dyed your hair and he couldn’t?”

“Oh mom, come on!!”

Jisung’s faced with the same argument, with a “even if I let you, I don’t have the money to bleach and dye your hair!!” thrown in for good measure.

“It’s not fair,” Chenle whines, tossing a rock into the lake. “Everybody else is allowed to dye their hair but us!!”

They argue with their parents for two months, and Renjun dyes his hair again and so does Mark. Eventually, their mothers start to get tired of their whining and they make a bet with them. If Chenle and Jisung can make the honor roll at the end of the semester, they can dye their hair. So they work their asses off and Jisung actually studies for once and their hangouts turn into study sessions. Somehow they make the honor roll. And even though Jisung’s mom is apprehensive, she keeps her promise and Chensung get an appointment to get their hair dyed.

The bleach smells bad and they spend 2 days getting their hair dyed. It’s worth it when Jisung gets to see Chenle with purple hair. Jisung has blue hair and his mom is obviously not happy with the color. But a bet was a bet so she just glares at him and lets him keep it.

Jisung and Chenle become the talk of the school and a bunch of kids come up to them talking about their hair colors. Jisung gets shy and flustered so Chenle takes charge and charms the girls who come up to them to flirt. He always turns around and laughs for a while afterwards.

“How do they have no idea that I’m gay?? They saw a guy with purple hair and they thought he was straight…..”

Jisung keeps quiet. Mostly because he’s looking at said guy (Chenle) with purple hair and thinking about how not straight he is. Instead he ruffles his blue hair and says:

“Maybe they want to date you for popularity.”

“Then they should date you. You’re the one on the soccer team. They’d have no luck with me.”

“Chenle, I’m also gay.”

“They don’t know that!! I thought girls liked dating the sports guys to get popular!”

“Are we gonna stand here talking about girls like a couple of straight guys or are we going to go get lunch?” Jisung asks. “Because I’m having a gay crisis and I need to hear about whatever drama Hyuck has gotten himself into this week to keep me sane and soothe my soul.”

Chenle cackles and follows behind him.

“That was the gayest fucking thing I’ve ever heard and we’ve heard a lot about what Jaemin gets up to.”

 -

The popularity only increases at every soccer game Jisung plays and every dance competition he does. Even girls from the opposing team’s audience come to talk to him and try to get his number. He feels awkward, and he doesn’t even feel flattered because he’s not attracted to any girl ever. Chenle thinks their sudden popularity with girls is hilarious. Jisung’s not so sure he likes having blue hair anymore, but it takes a few months for his hair to fade and his roots to grow back. He tries to hide the hair, but the teachers force him to remove his hats and he just has to deal with it. He wonders why the girls are so persistent when none of them have gotten a positive response from him. 

“Can I dye it again?” he asks his mother at dinner one night.

“Jisung—”

“My roots are showing and the hair dye is faded. Can I just go blonde instead?”

Chenle’s in China with his parents on a business trip the weekend Jisung’s mom takes him to get his hair bleached and dyed blonde. He avoids skyping Chenle and showing his new hair, and for some reason Chenle only phone calls him too.

“Hey, uh, I kinda have something to show you when you get back from the airport,” Chenle says on the phone.

Jisung hears him get in the car on the other end of the phone.

“I was going to say the same thing,” Jisung says.

When they meet each other at Jisung’s apartment as soon as Chenle gets back from the airport, Jisung’s excited. It’s only been 5 days, but he’s really missed Chenle and he’s excited to show off his new hair to his best friend. So when they finally come face to face again and Chenle’s just staring blankly at him, he feels self conscious. He catches sight of Chenle’s hair and he laughs. Chenle doesn’t move.

“We both dyed our hair blonde while you were in China!” Jisung laughs.

Jisung clears his throat and Chenle finally unfreezes.

“Wanna go hang out with Donghyuck?”

“Why so suddenly?”

“I’m having a gay crisis,” Jisung admits. ~~(bc of Chenle but that’s not important)~~

“What is it with you going to Hyuck when you’re having a gay crisis?” Chenle asks.

“He’s already a gay disaster so he makes me feel like more of a contained gay disaster.”

“God do you have a crush on somebody that you don’t want to tell me about or something?”

“No,” Jisung lies, panicked. “He’s been telling me about his crush.”

It’s not entirely a lie. Hyuck talks his ear off about Mark all the time. In turn, though, he talks about Chenle and how he thinks he might be developing a crush on his best friend. And once Chenle had dyed his hair purple it just kicked into overdrive. Chenle’s a blonde now, and Jisung’s having a hard time refraining from having a mental breakdown over how good it looks. ~~(Chenle’s thinking the same thing, u moron)~~

-

Chenle somehow manages to look cuter as a blonde and Jisung somehow realizes that he is developing a small crush on Chenle. He’s been willing it to go away, hoping that it was just a momentary thing brought on by doing something fun together like dying their hair. When they started this whole hair dye thing he didn’t expect it to launch him into the gay void. He just wanted a fun hair color and a fun thing to do with Chenle.


	14. The Pond Incident

“YOU DIDN’T HAVE TO PUSH ME IN,” Chenle yells as Jisung pulls him out of the lake.

“I didn’t mean to!!”

Chenle looks like a drowned kitten as he glares at Jisung. His shoes squelch as they walk on the path and Jisung worries his lip between his teeth, trying to figure out a solution.

“OH! I still have my soccer practice clothes!”

“YOU SWEAT IN THOSE,” Chenle shouts.

“Practice got cancelled, they’re clean.”

“I CAN’T JUST CHANGE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PARK!”

They have to walk for 5 minutes as Chenle complains and shivers in the cool April air to find a place for him to change. They finally find a bathroom and Jisung hands off his backpack to the soaking wet Chenle. Chenle’s still fuming from being almost drowned, so Jisung just sings to himself as Chenle changes clothes.

“I look stupid,” Chenle says.

Jisung freezes with a slight blush. His mind is screaming ~~(mostly just FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK)~~ as he watches Chenle flap his new sweater paws at him. He’s wearing Jisung’s black sweater and black sweatpants. They’re a little too big for him, and Jisung’s having a fucking gay crisis again. He’s not even having a gay crisis anymore, he’s just been drop kicked into the gay void of falling in love with his best friend. All of the feelings Jisung has been denying come rushing at him. His legs start to shake a little as he realizes how fuck he is.

He could deny his feelings when Chenle looked a lot like the little kid he met on the playground one day. But after they dyed their hair together he realizes how cute Chenle is and once Chenle becomes a blonde and wears his clothes while looking like a drowned kitten.

Chenle’s face looks neutral as he looks expectantly at Jisung.

“We should put my wet clothes in a bag,” he says simply.

“Yeah,” Jisung croaks. “That’s a good idea.”


	15. The Boys Find Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I was wondering why you guys weren’t giving me shit after Jisung gave me mono.”
> 
> “Jisung did what now??”

Chensung have always been so close as friends that as they get older, nobody’s quite sure of what their relationship is. It’s one of those things that nobody seems to ask about and one of the things that just never comes up in their everyday conversation. Even Jeno, Mark, Jaemin, Renjun, and Hyuck didn’t know for the longest time.

The only reason Hyuck and Renjun know that they’re just stupid friends pining over each other is because somehow they become Jisung and Chenle’s “Gay Crisis Hotline” as Hyuck likes to call it.

They hug and they hold hands when they’re scared or happy and sometimes they even kiss each other’s cheeks. Jisung has the tendency to gift Chenle with his jackets and sweaters when it’s cold, so they don’t notice when Jisung starts smirking every time he sees Chenle in them. Nobody comments on the fact that they hold hands more often, and Chenle and Jisung give each other wide smiles a lot. Jisung shrugs when Chenle mentions it and says that they must not think it’s that important to take note of.

Jaemin catches mono after he makes out with some boy at one of their away soccer games. He ends up spreading it to Hyuck and Jisung when they share a drink at a restaurant the next night. Jaemin comes down with mono as soon as they get back and misses school for a few days.

“Hyuck’s gone too?” Jeno asks a few days later.

“You know what they say about mono…..” Renjun says. “Kissing disease.”

“He shared a straw with Jaemin,” Jisung says, rolling his eyes. “We were trying this weird smoothie together.”

When Jisung’s out the next day along with another soccer team player, nobody questions it. Chenle starts missing school and nobody suspects a thing. Jisung and Chenle tend to share drinks and food anyways, so if Renjun realizes what happens he doesn’t comment on it when they’re all healthy and back at school.

-

Chenle and Jisung don’t pay attention to whether or not the boys know they’re dating. Chenle can’t remember if they told them but he remembers telling Renjun so he assumes that everybody else knows too. There’s no big change in the way he and Jisung act around each other, so he just assumes they’re finally going to let him live for once when they don’t hear any grief over their new relationship.

Renjun doesn’t even point out the heart eyes they give each other, or the way Chenle leans his head on Jisung’s shoulder when he’s feeling tired. After Chenle falls asleep on his shoulder at Hyuck’s house for a group sleepover, nobody mentions it. Even when Jisung has to catch Chenle’s head as it lulls too far and slips off his shoulder. They end up cuddling each other at some point during that night and even that’s normal to them. Not a single teasing remark is being thrown their way and Jisung and Chenle are feeling confused.

-

It’s been a month since they became boyfriends and Jisung’s feeling put off by the lack of response from everybody around them. His mom isn’t even doting on Chenle and Chenle’s mom hasn’t done the same to him. Nobody even mentions it, and Jisung’s starting to feel pissy that none of their friends or family has bothered to congratulate them on their new relationship.

Jaemin has the sleepover at his house a few weeks after Hyuck’s and they’re met with the usual reactions. Jisung’s still feeling put off and upset at the stale reception everybody has given them and sticks to hugging Chenle and glaring at everyone else. Chenle, although he feels the same way, just pats Jisung’s back and tells him to stop being so grumpy with a smile.

“What’s he feeling so pissy about?” Hyuck asks when Jisung leaves the room.

Chenle shrugs, too busy wondering when they’re going to acknowledge his new relationship with Jisung. All of them go quiet as Jisung walks back in and Mark just shakes his head at Donghyuck.

“You feeling any better?” Chenle asks Jisung.

Jisung sighs and Chenle grabs him by the shoulders, pulling him into a hug.

“I’m sorry. I don’t get why they’re doing it either,” he says, kissing Jisung lightly and ruffling his hair.

Jisung flinches in his embrace as Jaemin screams at the top of his lungs. Renjun’s covering his ears and Jeno’s mouth is hanging open. Donghyuck’s gaping at him and Mark looks like he’s seen a ghost. Jaemin runs up to Jisung and shakes him roughly as he screams again:

“WHAT THE FUCK JUST HAPPENED?? DID YOU TWO REALLY GET YOUR SHIT TOGETHER??!?!”

Chenle pries Jaemin away from Jisung with a confused look.

“Oh my god….” Jeno mumbles. “They really did it.”

“Holy shit,” Donghyuck says simply.

“Is this a prank?” Mark asks.

“What are you talking about??” Chenle asks.

Jaemin’s standing between them looking shocked and conflicted.

“Who got you dumbasses together?”

“Me?” Chenle replies. “By accident?”

“You…………when?” Hyuck asks.

“Last month?” Jisung replies.

“Wait, really?”

“Yes! Where have you been?!?”

Chenle and Jisung flinch as all them yell and run up. They start slapping them on the back and screaming at them “IT’S ABOUT DAMN TIME”. Jaemin pulls Jisung into a chokehold and kisses his cheek roughly as Chenle’s pulled to the ground by Jeno and Hyuck.

“I was wondering why you guys weren’t giving me shit after Jisung gave me mono.”

“Jisung did _what_ now??”


	16. NOT DATES

Ever since Chenle and Jisung were allowed to go out by themselves, they’ve used their spending money to go into town. Jisung always feels bad for taking the pocket money Chenle offers him, but Chenle would end up going behind his back to get him the thing he wants so he’s just learned to accept the money.

When they’re little kids, they flee to the arcade a few blocks from their apartments. Chenle’s been obsessed with convenience store ramen for as long as he’s known Jisung and it’s always the place they like to stop when they’re feeling hungry. The woman at the checkout counter knows their names and she’s always complaining about how much they’ve grown up. As they get older, they start to flock to cafes and places downtown where the shopping districts are.

“God how does nobody know that you two are dating?” Jaemin asks one day when he runs into them at a café.

“We’re not dating,” Jisung says immediately.

“You’re 14, aren’t you a little young to date?” Jaemin continues.

“Oh shut up, it’s not a date,” he mumbles.

All he’s doing is sitting in a café across from his best friend chatting about their days and sharing a slice of cake. They walk from school to the café together after Chenle complains about being hungry and offers to pay for Jisung’s food. It’s not like it’s anything out of the ordinary for them.

“That’s the third time we’ve been asked that,” Chenle notes.

“He acts like he doesn’t skip class with Hyuck to go eat sushi,” Jisung rolls his eyes.

-

Hyuck makes fun of them for being attached at the hip. He complains that it’s not normal for friends to want to be around each other all the time. Jisung and Chenle don’t get what he means. They’re best friends, why would they not want to hang out for the sake of being around each other?

“If you and Jisung aren’t actually dating don’t you want to date other people?? Isn’t there some cute boy you want to chase after and try to woo?” Hyuck asks Chenle one day.

“Not really. I just like hanging out with Jisung all the time.”

“Are you gay for Jisung?” Jaemin asks.

“No? He’s my best friend!”

-

At some point in their Not Dates, Chenle ends up getting dragged around by Jisung to the shopping districts. Dragged, of course, meaning that Jisung grabs onto Chenle’s hand and tugs him from shop to shop. Holding hands is nothing new to them. Chenle has been holding Jisung’s hand since they were 7 years old and running across playgrounds together. So if he starts to feel a little funny all of a sudden when they hold hands, Chenle pretends he doesn’t notice.

-

“If you’re gonna go on dates like this at least tell us that you’re fucking dating,” Hyuck complains.

“What are you on about this time?”

“You’re literally feeding him your ice cream!! You really think that’s a Not Gay thing to do with your friend?”

“He asked for a bite!” Chenle replies, trying to pry the spoon out of Jisung’s mouth.

“Please admit that you’re dating,” Jeno sighs, “Hyuck never shuts up about his conspiracy theories about you two.”

“We’re……we’re not dating…..” Jisung mumbles around the spoon.

“You—”

Hyuck groans loudly as they look at him in confusion.

-

“I don’t see why they want to think we’re dating so bad,” Jisung says on their next Not Date.

“I don’t get it either,” Chenle shrugs. “Hand me that blanket.”

“Where did you even get fairy lights from?” Jisung asks.

“I have no idea, I found them in the hall closet.”

Admittedly, building a fort with fairy lights with your best friend is a Very Gay activity. But Jisung tries to deny the butterflies by telling himself that it’s not a date and that best friends have movie nights inside of forts sometimes. Sure they end up cuddled together in front of Chenle’s laptop in the dark under the same blanket. And yeah maybe Chenle feeds him snacks occasionally and they share each other’s drinks. Does it feel nice and cozy in the fort? Of course. Does anything feel romantic between them? …..maybe not.

But it is most definitely NOT a date. Jisung definitely does NOT like Chenle ~~(he tells himself repeatedly that night, but god the kid is so cute).~~ And it’s not like they didn’t do the same thing when they were 8. People like Hyuck and Jaemin just think differently of it now since they’re old enough to start dating people.

-

“Are you _ever_ gonna admit that you two are in love with each other and hiding a secret relationship?”

“We’re not on a date!! What are you even doing here?!?” Jisung whines.

“You’re on a fucking date!! You took him to the aquarium!!”

“It’s not a date!! I just wanted to see the fish!” Chenle says.

“You’re holding hands.”

“Chenle’s small he gets lost in crowds easily,” Jisung replies, turning up his nose and pushing through the group of people in front of the gift shop.

“YOU’RE LITERALLY DATING.”

“NO WE’RE NOT.”

-

They’re definitely not dates. Not when Jisung takes Chenle to a museum full of old planes or when Chenle surprises Jisung with a trip to the planetarium. It’s normal to surprise your friend with takeout for dinner and a new stupid hobby to try out together. Cooking dinner together and learning yoga and painting is just a fun friendly activity.

Well…..until Jisung’s heart starts to feel funny and he gets butterflies when Chenle clutches his hand, afraid of being swallowed up by the large crowds. And then he can’t stop thinking about how much bigger his hand is compared to Chenle’s. And then he thinks about how much he wants to keep Chenle safe and happy. And he realizes that while they have a lot of Not Dates…..he’s starting to maybe want to have a Date with Chenle.


	17. First REAL Date

After a week of dating, Chenle and Jisung are both still adjusting to their new life as boyfriends. Every time they hold hands they both blush profusely and get flustered. Jisung’s afraid to kiss Chenle, and Chenle’s so overwhelmed that Jisung’s his boyfriend now that he feels too bashful to initiate a kiss.

“Wanna grab jajangmyeon for dinner this weekend?” Chenle asks Jisung on the bus ride home from school.

“This weekend?” Jisung asks, voice cracking a little.

“Yes?? Did you forget to tell me that you were busy or something?”

“No no, I just didn’t realize that this weekend was already so close,” he lies, wiping his hands on his pants.

Now that they were official boyfriends, things between them were different. Everything was happier and shiny and new. And Jisung feels nervous. In a good way. He takes a small, stuttering breath to calm himself. They haven’t had a sleepover as boyfriends yet. Somehow it feels different than making plans like they did as friends.

“So jajangmyeon?”

“Sounds good,” Jisung squeaks.

-

His legs start to shake as he rings the doorbell and waits for Chenle to let him in. He’s been here a billion times before. So why does this time feel so different?

“You look like you’re gonna melt into a puddle,” Chenle notes when he opens the door.

Jisung clenches his hands into fists, trying to will the shaking away. He grabs Chenle by the cheeks and kisses him and the butterflies erupt in his stomach even more. When he pulls away, Chenle’s grinning. They both giggle at each other and everything feels right.

“Wanna make a fort?” Chenle asks.

He takes Jisung’s hand and pulls him into the apartment. Jisung’s barely got his backpack off before Chenle’s dragging him around.

-

They end up in a blanket pile watching movies on Jisung’s laptop. Chenle stretches himself across Jisung’s lap and rambles to him about how his day went and how he missed him all day. Chenle intertwines his fingers with Jisung’s and gently kisses his knuckles. Jisung’s blushing madly in the darkness of the fort, hoping it’s enough to cover how red his cheeks are. If this is what it’s like to have a sleepover with his boyfriend, Jisung wouldn’t mind feeling this flustered all the time.

They still make fun of each other and tease each other and fight over what movies to watch and what snacks they want. Everything’s comfortable, but with a shiny new twist on it. Because now Chenle tries to kiss him until he gets his way. ~~(Jisung likes it a lot, but he wants the goddamn mochi, Chenle)~~

-

Jisung spends the entire night smiling, and his cheeks are hurting. He’s pretty sure he’s never going to get tired of kissing Chenle’s cheek or feeling his small hand in his. He didn’t know he could love Chenle more than he already did, but it feels like every time they hold hands or hug or kiss he falls even deeper in love.

They watch stupid YouTube videos together well into the early hours of the morning. When it starts to hit 2:45 am, Chenle lays his head in Jisung’s lap and gives mumbled commentary on the videos as Jisung runs his fingers through Chenle’s hair. He goes silent for a while and when Jisung looks down, Chenle’s fast asleep and curled into his side. Jisung really wants to lean down and kiss him on the forehead, but he opts out of it so he doesn’t wake Chenle up by jostling him.

At some point, though, he ends up waking Chenle up so he can fall asleep in a more comfortable position. Chenle’s super tired and Jisung has to pull Chenle up and into a laying position. Jisung’s not even sure if Chenle actually woke up or if he was just too lazy to move by himself.

-

When they wake up the next day cuddled up in their fort it’s almost noon.

“Why do I love you again?” Jisung asks when Chenle steals a sip of his drink at their favorite café.

“You say that like you have a choice to love me,” Chenle says.

Jisung dips his hand in the whipped cream and smudges it on Chenle’s cheek with an innocent smile. He shouts and fights Chenle when he tries to do the same to him. Jisung has whipped cream and cheesecake smudged on his forehead by the end of the struggle. He also has a stupid smile on his face as he thinks about how much he loves his dumb boyfriend.

-

“I don’t think we’re doing this right,” he says, looking at his laptop.

“What do you mean, we’re doing it perfectly,” Chenle replies, dumping a cup half full of flour into the mixing bowl.

He coughs as the flour forms a puff of smoke and smiles.

“See? It’s fine.”

“These are going to be the grossest homemade brownies ever made,” Jisung says.

“It’s fine. All you gotta do is add chocolate chips at the end. That’s always the way to save a failed dessert. What’re you grinning about, stupid?”

Jisung breathes out a laugh and his thumb brushes Chenle’s cheek gently.

“We haven’t even added the cocoa powder yet,” he says, showing Chenle the pad of his thumb.

“It flew into my face when I opened it,” Chenle grumbles.

Jisung cracks an egg so hard it explodes all over them and the kitchen. They both have to stop for 5 minutes because they can’t stop laughing. Every time they stopped, Chenle would squeak “OH MY GOD, YOUR FACE” and burst into another fit of giggles.

They add chocolate chips to the brownies ~~(probably too many but you can never have enough chocolate~~ ) and surprisingly they remember to set a timer. The brownies actually taste good and they have them with ice cream and whipped cream. Chenle’s mom doesn’t have to know that they ate it as their dinner that night.

-

On Sunday, they go on the first real Date together. They both decide that they haven’t officially declared they’re done with the Not Dates yet, and even if they’ve been dating for a week, it’s time for their first Actual Date.

Their date destination is Seoul Grand Park where they spend the entire day walking around the zoo and gardens. Their feet hurt and Jisung can’t feel his legs, but it’s worth it. He stands back and watches Chenle point out some of the animals with a childlike excitement. The stroll through the Flower Rainbow Pavilion is the most breathtaking, and Chenle holds Jisung’s hand the entire time they’re on the sky lift.

The butterfly room makes Chenle smile so hard his cheeks hurt and Jisung’s glad he remembers to bring along the camera he got for his birthday. He takes a lot of photos of Chenle walking underneath the cherry blossom trees and he just shakes his head and smiles when Chenle whines at him to hurry up. Chenle ends up stealing his camera after they stop for lunch and Jisung’s even brave enough to trek into the amusement park with him and ride a few rides.

“I hope you know that you’re never allowed to break up with me,” Jisung says at the end of the night on the bus ride back home. “That was the best first date in the world and there’s no boyfriend who’d ever make me as happy as you do.”

Chenle laughs.

“You act like breaking up is even a choice. You’ve been stuck with me for this long, there’s no way I’m letting go of you now.”


	18. Jisung's Sick Days

It starts with a small headache and the unshakeable feeling that the room is a little too warm for his liking. It’s annoying but livable, so Jisung goes on with his day and hardly notices that he’s feeling worse 2 days later. His stomach hurts when he runs at practice and he ends up hunched over by the end of it. But it isn’t that bad and he wants to play in the next game, so he doesn’t say anything.

“You look a little pale,” Chenle comments on Wednesday when he meets Jisung to walk to school.

“I bleached my face to look whiter,” Jisung replies sarcastically.

He hugs his hoodie a little tighter to his body and tries to hide the shiver that wracks his body. Luckily, Chenle looks away at that moment and doesn’t notice. Chenle insists on stopping by a café to buy some tea even though it’s warm outside. Jisung’s thankful, though he’d never admit it.

The hot tea does nothing to warm up his body, and he’s shivering by the time he reaches his third class of the day. Nobody calls him out again for being pale, and he tries his best to hide the shivers from his classmates. It’s no big deal. He’s just feeling a little sick. It’s not worth bothering anybody about.

-

That night he finds it hard to sleep. It feels like he’s closed his eyes for less than a minute before his alarm is buzzing at him. He feels like shit, but it’s fine. He rolls out of his bed and pulls on his NASA hoodie. Chenle quirks an eyebrow when he sees him.

“It’s supposed to be warm today,” he says.

“Yeah, but this is my favorite hoodie,” Jisung replies.

His stomach hurts. He’s barely eaten in days for fear of throwing up. The left side of his head is pounding. Chenle eyes him for a moment, but at Jisung’s level stare back, he drops it.

“We’re early, wanna go to the café?”

Jisung’s stomach lurches, but the thought of a caramel frappuccino is tempting. He has to take small sips and it’s getting melty halfway through. It still tastes good, though, so he finishes most of it. The cold chills start up so bad Jisung has to go find Jaemin and ask him for the blanket he keeps in his locker.

-

“Are you seriously cold right now?” Renjun asks when Jisung comes to lunch wearing the blanket around his shoulders.

“No. I’m just sleepy,” Jisung lies.

He knows he looks pale and worse for wear. Maybe they’ll just believe it’s from lack of sleep. It’s not a total lie that he’s sleepy. He felt too shitty to sleep last night.

“Jisung, you’re shivering,” Jeno points out.

“I just remembered that I probably flunked my math test today,” he replies.

Chenle lets Jisung lay against him and close his eyes during lunch. He occasionally pushes some food into Jisung’s mouth, but they all leave him be.

-

“What time is soccer practice over today?” Chenle asks as he and Jisung begin walking to their 5th class of the day.

“Probably about 4:30,” Jisung says, stopping to clench his eyes shut.

“You okay?” Chenle asks gingerly, hand beginning to reach out to Jisung.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Jisung says.

It’s not convincing. His voice is frail and tired. His head hurts so much. He wishes it would just stop already. Why couldn’t everything just stop for a while? Why is he so dizzy? Is it because of the lack of food? He takes a weak breath and opens his eyes. Chenle’s staring at him in concern.

“I didn’t sleep much last night,” he says.

Jisung manages to give him a smile and starts walking down the stairs without him. The first set of stairs goes okay, but he suddenly stops walking and Chenle almost runs into him. His eyes are shut as he fights off another wave of dizziness, wondering why his head just won’t stop pounding. Chenle eyes the way Jisung’s hand is clutching the rail. His knuckles are white and he sways dangerously.

“Jisung!” he calls. “Jisung!”

Chenle wraps his arms around Jisung’s waist, trying to steady both of them. Jisung’s skin is burning when pressed against his. He’s too tired and weak to fight him on being held. He just wants his ear to stop ringing.

-

It’s a struggle to get Jisung down the stairs, but Chenle runs into Hyuck when he’s trying to drag Jisung down the hallway. He’s limp as they both carry him to the nurse’s office. Jisung’s mumbling incoherently as his head lulls.

The nurse stands up immediately when she sees Jisung being held up between them. She ushers them to sit him on the cot and when she makes contact with Jisung’s skin, she looks shocked and concerned.

“He’s really hot,” she says.

She makes them stand in the corner while she tries to get logical responses out of Jisung. They can barely hear him, save for his pained, tired groaning. She looks very concerned, and since Jisung’s mom is working, Chenle’s mom comes to pick them both up. Chenle’s dad helps Chenle bring Jisung to his bed and his parents leave to get him some medication.

-

“Someone called me hot today,” Jisung says in his delirious state.

“Yeah, that was the school nurse after she checked your temperature,” Chenle replies flatly.

Jisung frowns and slumps back against the pillows.

“Nobody appreciates me,” he mumbles sadly.

Chenle scoffs quietly.

“You’re ugly when you’re sick,” Chenle says. “I promise that you’re hot most of the time.”

“Like when?”

Chenle’s cheeks start to burn and he pushes Jisung into the pillows.

“We’ll talk later about it later,” he says, hoping that Jisung is too out of it to realize how high his voice has gotten or how much his hands are starting to shake.

“Do you think I’m hot, Chenle? No lies.”

If Jisung were in his right mind, he’d be mortified that he was asking such a bold question to his best friend that he had a Big Gay Crush on. He also wouldn’t be clutching onto Chenle’s hand as he tried to move away.

“Lay down with me,” he whines.

“I’m sorry, what?”

“Let’s just lay down for a while,” he says, using the little bit of strength he has left to try to tug Chenle onto the bed.

“You’re so warm,” Chenle says, cringing away from Jisung as he tries to press his cheek against Chenle’s.

“That lady said I was hot.”

Chenle holds back whatever insult he wants to say and lets Jisung try to pull him closer. He’s so going to hold this over Jisung’s head when he gets better.

-

Jisung’s mom comes home from work and finds Chenle being squished by her sleeping son. They have to wake him up and take him to a hospital. The hospital is quiet, but Jisung is not. He mumbles frequently about his head and his ear, quietly begging for it to stop. He keeps telling something to shut up even when his mother and Chenle are silent. Chenle’s pretty sure Jisung hasn’t had a coherent thought since lunch.

The doctor comes in after 15 minutes and Jisung is talked to like he’s 5. Chenle knows Jisung would typically hate it, but he just speaks quietly and holds his head and points to what hurts. The doctor doesn’t like how dehydrated Jisung is, so they decide to give him a saline drip while he’s there. The Jisung Park who’s a wimp and afraid of needles doesn’t even seem to notice. He looks like he’s close to passing out just from laying down.

-

Jisung gets a long nap, a diagnosis of an ear infection and dehydration, and antibiotics to take. He sleeps most of the way back home. He’s so delirious he doesn’t even protest that he won’t be in the soccer game 2 days later.

Jisung sleeps most of the day and is coaxed into eating soups and ramen. On the third day back from the doctor, the delirium starts to clear up and he’s back to being the regular Park Jisung. Just one who’s feeling under the weather.

-

“You could’ve hurt yourself if you went any longer without telling us!” Chenle says, slapping him on the arm.

“It wasn’t a big deal!”

Jisung swats at him and glares defiantly. The delirium is gone for sure, and Jisung’s stubborn dumb ass is back in control.

“Some people go deaf from untreated ear infections!”

“I had it under control.”

“You almost fainted on the stairs,” Chenle reminds him, laying his head on Jisung’s shoulder. “You’re so stupid.”

“I would not have—”

“You so would’ve!!! I had to get Hyuck to help me carry you to the nurse’s office! You wouldn’t shut up because she said you were hot.”

“There’s no way—”

“I have a lot of video evidence of you being a sick dumbass, don’t test me.”

“You—”

-

Jisung’s burning with embarrassment at the end of the videos. Chenle decides not to mention how much he was cuddled when Jisung was sick.  That's a memory he can keep for himself; nobody needs to know how much it flustered him.


End file.
